Luan Plywood Flooring Underlayment

Monday, September 28, 2015

When installing vinyl tiles
over an existing vinyl tile hallway. It is better to attach luan plywood over
the sub floor with ring shank nails. Depending on the existing floor if has
1/4"Masonite+1/8"vinyl tile on top
of that I will add 1/4" laun plywood + 1/8" vinyl tiles. The best
option is to use ring shank nails which are made exclusively for this purpose.

Some people that prefer to
use vinyl have used 7/8” staples. When you install thin plywood it is best to
have a staple gun made just for installing ¼” and also luan which has been
pre-coated for 7/8”

With all underlayments, the
fastener should penetrate the underfloor by ¾” (1.9cm), but not protrude
through the underfloor by more than 1/8” which is about 3.2mm. If you have an
underlayment which is replacing or being placed over an old floor covering like
vinyl then the thickness of the existing flooring should be taken into
consideration as well when you decide on which nail and the length of the
staples used.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Dusty concrete slabs may be primed with one coat of S-185 Primer. Sweep
or vacuum the concrete and apply the S-185 with a 3/8″ nap paint roller.

You may also prime concrete subfloors with the recommended flooring
adhesive before installing luan plywood. After sweeping/vacuuming,
apply the adhesive using a smooth-edge trowel, then apply plywood over concrete.
When using adhesive as a primer, allow the adhesive to dry completely before
installing luan plywood.

After drying, install the flooring in accordance with the recommended installation system. NOTE:
A dusty concrete floor on-grade or below-grade may be a sign of alkali salts.
A rough concrete floor can be ground smooth with a commercial
diamond or carbide-equipped grinding machine. If the concrete subfloor
is extremely rough or uneven, it may be too great a job to smooth this
way. In this case, apply a cementitious underlayment such as S-183, S-184
or S-194. A smooth, flat, uniform surface is necessary as a good base for
resilient flooring.

Product Description:
Gyp-Crete 2000®/3.2K by Maxxon is a gypsum floor underlayment is engineered to deliver compressive strengths up to 3,200 psi (22.1 MPa), also delivering enhanced resistance to surface abrasions and even faster drying time.

It's ideal for use over wood or concrete subfloors in single family, light commercial, and multifamily construction, as well as renovation projects. Its crack-resistant surface provides a perfect base for practically any floor covering.
Now always a "green" building material, Gyp-Crete 2000/3.2K is an ideal gypsum floor underlayment for sustainable building projects.

a. The slab must be of good quality, standard density concrete with low
water/cement ratios consistent with placing and finishing requirements,
having a maximum slump of 4″, a minimum compressive strength of
3500 psi, and following the recommendations of ACI Standard 302.1R
for class 2 or class 4 floors and the Portland Cement Association’s
recommendations for slabs on ground.

b. The concrete slab must be dry, clean, smooth, structurally sound and
free of foreign materials that might prevent adhesive bond as described
in ASTM F-710, “Standard Practice for Preparing Concrete Floors to
Receive Resilient Flooring”.

c. The concrete slab must be protected from ground moisture with an
effective and intact vapor retarder that conforms to the requirements of
ASTM E-1745, “Standard Specification for Water Vapor Retarders Used in
Contact with Soil or Granular Fill Under Concrete Slabs.”

d. The concrete slab must be placed directly on the vapor retarder.

e. The concrete must be wet cured with a moisture-retaining curing cover.
Do not use spray-on curing compounds because these reduce the drying
rate of concrete and can interfere with adhesive bond.

f. Before installation of the finished flooring, moisture, alkali and bond
testing must be conducted.

1) Moisture testing must be performed in accordance with ASTM F-2170
“Standard Test Method for Determining Relative Humidity in
Concrete Floor Slabs Using in situ Probes” (preferred method) or in
accordance with ASTM F-1869, “Standard Test Method for Measuring
Moisture Vapor Emission Rate of Concrete Subfloor Using
Anhydrous Calcium Chloride.” See the section on Moisture Testing
for more details.

2) The surface of the concrete must have a pH of 9 or less.
3) Bond testing must be run to determine compatibility of the adhesives
to the concrete slab.

d. In addition to this the concrete slab must be sealed from ground moisture with an
effective and strong vapor blocker/stopper

The concrete slab must be placed directly on the vapor retarder.

f. The concrete must be wet cured with a moisture-retaining curing cover.
Do not use spray-on curing compounds because these reduce the drying
rate of concrete and can interfere with adhesive bond.Chapter IV — Subfloors and Underlayments 55
g. Before installation of the finished flooring, moisture, alkali and bond
testing must be conducted.

1) Moisture testing must be performed in accordance with ASTM F-2170
“Standard Test Method for Determining Relative Humidity in
Concrete Floor Slabs Using in situ Probes” (preferred method) or in
accordance with ASTM F-1869, “Standard Test Method for Measuring
Moisture Vapor Emission Rate of Concrete Subfloor Using
Anhydrous Calcium Chloride.” See the section on Moisture Testing
for more details.

2) The surface of the concrete must have a pH of 9 or less when tested
according to the method described in ASTM F-710.
3) Bond testing must be performed to determine compatibility of the
adhesives to the concrete slab.

Working With Concrete Subfloor and Luan Underlayment
New and existing concrete subfloors will have to reach or exceed the minimum requirements of the latest
edition of ASTM F 710

Introduction to the new requirements can be found here along with all relevant information.

“Standard Practice for Preparing Concrete Floors to
Receive Resilient Flooring” available from the American Society for Testing
and Materials, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428;
610-832-9500; http://www.astm.org.

Depending of the type of concrete used or which cement material used
as a base for resilient flooring, in the event of underlayment failure, the
responsibility for warranties and/or performance guarantees rests with
the concrete or cement-like material manufacturer and not with the
manufacturer of resilient flooring.

1. Concrete Floors and Moisture
As usual concrete subfloors can be a source of moisture-related flooring
failures, which sometimes include concrete subfloors themselves. By its very nature,
concrete starts as a water-saturated mass which must cure and then dry
sufficiently to allow the installation of flooring.

Above-grade floors normally have only the mix water to contend with although rain, spills and
water leaks can add more water. Roughly one-half of the mix water is
consumed by hydration of the cement during the curing period, with the
rest being slowly reduced by evaporation.

Once dry enough for installation, there is little chance of future moisture related problems on
above-grade concrete slabs when used with luan plywood flooring. Concrete floors-on-ground, or below ground, have not only the mix water to consume and dissipate, they also have a
potentially inexhaustible source of moisture from the ground as well as transfer to the underlayment regardless of type.

When covered with resilient flooring as well as luan underlayment, a concrete subflooring that has been constructed on top of thesubgrade soil will become approximately as moist as the soil on which
it was installed.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Attaching will be with construction adhesive and nails. Depending on type luan plywood you can go over studs directly or you may need to go over drywall if its thin like paneling.
I saw this done once where the fasteners were incorporated into the design.

When you use black lag bolts with allen wrench sockets. Each panels had finished edges, painted black. Some panels were about 2'x3' if I recall correctly. and had about a 1.5" space between each. They were shimmed down from a main ceiling by about 1.5". main ceiling, or sub ceiling if you will, was also painted black.

Consider the panels were a pre-finished mahogany wood.
It looked really neat. I considered doing this in my basement.
There are also beadboard options, in sheets or boards, that look nice.
Bottom line - This can be a real architectural feature or it can be a red flag when you go to sell, depending on how its done.

If you just want to take up luan plywood to cover some problem and avoid mudding thing you may be going down a wrong path. If you are doing it for design reasons then go for it and make it nice.